National Shipping said today in a stock-exchange statement
it will pay $832.8 million to Saudi Arabian Oil Co.’s Vela
International Marine Ltd. unit. It also will issue 78.8 million
new shares to the subsidiary at 22.25 riyals ($5.93) each under
the nonbinding accord, giving Vela a 20 percent stake in
National Shipping after the stock is issued.

The Riyadh-based National Shipping said it will raise the
money for the transaction through different financing sources.

National Shipping will be the sole carrier for crude pumped
by Saudi Aramco, as the state company is known, under long-
duration contracts, according to the statement. The merger will
make National Shipping the industry’s fourth-largest owner of
very large crude carriers.

The new fleet will also include 20 chemical tankers, 4
refined product tankers, and 16 vessels under-construction, and
this “would also expand the ability of Saudi Aramco and the
Kingdom to meet future maritime transport needs for its
expanding downstream businesses,” Saudi Aramco said in an e-
mailed statement today. The two companies plan to explore ways
to expand their cooperation in the maritime sector, Aramco said
in the statement.

The companies plan to sign a final accord in the fourth
quarter and complete the combination in 2013, according to the
statement.